


we can frame it and put you on a wall

by nouiiam



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, art museum fic, everyone just loves niall, im proud of it, niall's just niall, there are jonas brothers lyrics used, there's a lot of teasing from zayn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-07 22:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1915974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nouiiam/pseuds/nouiiam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"Harry Styles," He says, watching Louis flip through the guest list pages on his clipboard and search for Harry's name. It takes a moment, Harry's last name making him almost last on the list. Harry doesn't really mind if it means he gets to admire Louis a little bit longer.</i><br/> <br/><i>"Found you," Louis says, flashing a bright smile up at Harry. Harry didn't think he could get any prettier, but there he was, smiling like he was God's gift to the world. He probably was, Harry would believe it.</i><br/> </p><p>-or an AU where Louis works in an art museum/gallery and Harry's totally not obsessed with him. Except he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we can frame it and put you on a wall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [up_and_away](https://archiveofourown.org/users/up_and_away/gifts).



> For the lovely up_and_away! 
> 
> Ahhhh, this was fun to write!! Can't believe I got it finished. all of your prompts were great and it was down to two, but i eventually decided to choose this one!
> 
> i spent a lot of time writing (and procrastinating) this, so i hope it's what you wanted. I know nothing about art museums or anything, so it's all just improvised.
> 
> shout out to one of my friends (who i'll credit once everything is revealed) for going through this and fixing all of my mistakes (i hope)
> 
> This was such a great prompt and I'm so glad I got it:) I hope you like it!!!
> 
> (also, the italics disappeared when i copied and pasted it, so idk if theyre all there! oops)

Harry's always been interested in pretty things. He enjoyed watching the disney princesses as a child, enamored by their dresses and tiaras. When he was a teen, he had gotten a job at the local bakery, loving the way the designs on the cakes and cupcakes looked, wanting be around that daily. He'd had a flower crown phase he had gone through the year before, ones that were now tucked away in a box in his closet after the obsession had died down.

So, in short, Harry really enjoyed pretty things. Art had been a big one, him having gotten interested in it during his second year of secondary school. He couldn't actually paint, or do anything artistic, really, but he loved the way the colors looked on a blank canvas, how the artist could tell a story without using any words. It was something that had captured his attention and hadn't gone away since.

He hadn't even needed to think twice when his best mate Zayn asked him to go to his art show at the museum. Zayn was a brilliant artist, in Harry's opinion and he always loved to see what the older boy would come up with. He's rarely seen Zayn's artwork before, Zayn being a private person and usually self conscious about sharing his work with others. It was big, this art show and Harry wouldn't miss it even if he weren't so interested in art.

Harry finds himself standing outside of the Hayward Gallery at eight pm, suited in a white t-shirt, black blazer, his nicest pair of dark skinny jeans ("They're not all ripped, Zayn.") and his brown boots. He wasn't sure on how formal the event was supposed to be, so he had just gone with casual but classy. It was a life saver, sometimes.

There's not too many people when he walks in, but he's gotten there a bit early and Zayn's a well liked person, so he's not too worried.

"Hello, welcome to the Hayward Gallery," A small, dainty voice says from behind him. He turns around, being met with a slightly shorter boy with bright, blue eyes, long eyelashes and caramel, brown hair swept up and off to the side. He had slight stubble and seemed a good three inches shorter than Harry. The lad was wearing a white button-up with a black vest over it, black trousers and dress shoes to go with it. He was very pretty, Harry decides. He likes him. "I'm Louis Tomlinson." Louis Tomlinson. Harry likes his name. "Are you here for our featured Art Show, tonight?" He asks and Harry has to do his best to focus on his eyes and not on his lips. He's pretty sure he's failed.

Harry nods. "Harry Styles," He says, watching Louis flip through the guest list pages on his clipboard and search for Harry's name. It takes a moment, Harry's last name making him almost last on the list. Harry doesn't really mind if it means he gets to admire Louis a little bit longer.

"Found you," Louis says, flashing a bright smile up at Harry. Harry didn't think he could get any prettier, but there he was, smiling like he was God's gift to the world. He probably was, Harry would believe it. "Right through those doors on your left."

"Thank you, Louis," Harry says, giving a small grin before walking into the room where Zayn's art show was being held.

* * *

"He was absolutely gorgeous, Z," Harry says week after the art show, laying on the sofa and searching through the tv channels. He's still got that Louis bloke from the museum stuck on his brain, with his cheekbones and stubble and everything. The boy wasn't real, he thinks. He had never thought that he would meet someone as good looking as Zayn, but there was Louis, proving him wrong.

"If I have to hear about how pretty his eyelashes were one more time, I'm going to leave you to deal with Liam's health kick all by yourself," Zayn threatens. Him and Zayn had been friends since they had first moved in together as just roommates. They were in the same music class in University together and knew each other well enough that neither of them had minded moving in with the other.

At first, Zayn would usually stay in his bedroom, listening to music and either painting or drawing. They had established that Zayn would get the room with the balcony, making it easy for him to smoke without having to actually leave the flat and go all the way downstairs, while Harry didn't have to worry about the smell. Besides Zayn's smoking habits, they got along just fine as roommates and there weren't ever any problems, really.

But Harry's a people person. He wants people to like him and talk to him constantly. He just likes having someone around to have a conversation with and joke around with, so he practically dragged Zayn out of his room (okay, it was more of a polite knock on the door and asking if he wanted to watch a movie with him) and they sat in the living room, pretending to watch a movie while chatting with each other about whatever the two could think of. After that night, Zayn began spending more time outside of his room and in Harry's, the both of them slowly getting to actually know each other and become friends. The three years later, Harry almost regrets this decision. Especially when Zayn threatens to leave him with Liam.

Harry fake gasps. He knows how Liam got on his health kicks and it wasn't fun. Last time he had one, he had gone through all of Harry and Zayn's cupboards and gotten rid of everything slightly unhealthy or sugary. That was when Harry started keeping food in his room and told Zayn that if Liam were to even _touch_ his wagon wheels, he would stop letting him into their flat. Liam still messes with Zayn’s food, but he doesn't dare go near Harry's. Not that he eats too much unhealthy stuff anyways, but it was still a pain in the arse. "Don't you dare," Harry sits up straight and narrows his eyes at his roommate. "He's your boyfriend, I'm not obligated to put up with him."

Zayn sighs, ruffling Harry's curls and walking off to the kitchen. "I'm gonna tell him you said that," He yells. Harry groans in response. Liam had come into the picture about a year after Harry and Zayn moved in together. Harry had met him at the gym he went to and the two of them had started a friendship from there. After a couple of months, he introduced him to Zayn and the older boy had been infatuated on first glance. It was kind of like how Harry was acting right now, Zayn going on about Liam constantly. If Harry even so much as dropped his name in a conversation, it turned the entire thing into a conversation about Liam Payne. It was endearing for the first hour, but then it turned into months and Harry had quickly gotten over Zayn's pining and told the lad to either admit his feelings to Liam or shut up. Zayn chose the former.

"Then he's gonna sit and lecture me on my over-consumption of fruits," Harry replies.

"You do eat a lot of fruit."

"Fuck off, my fruit intake is perfectly normal," Harry flips him off, returning to whatever was playing on the tv. "But back to Louis," He says, sighing like a teenage girl talking about her favorite boy band. He was in too deep and he had only seen the lad once. He didn't really believe in love at first sight before, but now all he can think about is Louis and how nice his hair was, how pretty his eyes are, how _amazing_ his body is. He doesn't even know what Louis's like, he could be an arse for all Harry knows, but he was far too infatuated to care, honestly.

"No," Zayn says when he comes back into the living room, a bowl of ice cream in his hands. He moves Harry's legs from the couch, taking a seat only to have Harry place his feet on his lap. "You're annoying."

Harry grins, changing the channel once again and settling on a documentary on zebras when he finds nothing else interesting. "I had to sit and listen to you go on about Liam when you first met him," He points out.

"That was different," Zayn defends. Harry shakes his head, kicking Zayn's leg and smirking.

"Have you _seen_ his arms, H? He could easily pin me against the wall--" Harry says, imitating Zayn's voice to the best of his ability. The sexual tension between Zayn and Liam had been (and still is) ridiculous and Harry refused to ever hang out with the two of them solely because of that reason. They'd ignore he was there half the time and he'd find himself muttering about needing a boyfriend and scrolling through his phone to pass the time.

"Okay, fine," Zayn interrupts, grabbing the remote from Harry and turning the volume up on the tv. "Go on about Louis, then," He mutters.

"He has like, the bluest eyes I have ever seen," Harry starts. "His hair looked so soft and perfect. And his voice was like, I don't even _know_ Zayn. He was so perfect."

Zayn lets out a bored sigh and rolls his eyes. "You're annoying." He repeats, smacking Harry's leg and giving the younger boy a look. Harry scoffs, crossing his arms across his chest and closing his eyes.

"Fuck you, I'm in love," Harry says. "I should go see him." He wants to. He could go back to the gallery, make up some excuse about how much he loves the artwork (it wasn't a lie, he enjoyed art and he's sure Louis is a work of art), then charm the boy into a date and get his number. A fool proof plan, he's sure. Zayn wouldn't agree, but well, he's Zayn.

"Don't be a stalker," Zayn warns. "You get like that sometimes."

"Shut up, no I don't," Harry mumbles, sitting straight and standing up from the sofa. Zayn didn't know anything. Okay sure, he was the one with the long term boyfriend of about a year, but besides that, Zayn was lame. Zayn could kindly fuck off.

Zayn shakes his head, taking in a spoonful of ice cream and pointing his spoon at Harry. "Ask Liam."

"Liam can fuck off with his stupid health food." Harry begins walking to the front door, putting his boots on and grabbing his keys from the side table. Sure, Harry was healthy, too. He went to the gym a couple of times a week, didn't eat too much junk food or anything like that, but Liam was just on this _whole other_ level of fitness that Harry doesn't think he could reach even if he stood on his toes.

"I'm telling him you said that."

"It's amazing how far up your head is in Liam's arse."

"Says the one about to go to an art museum to see a boy you've met once."

Harry pauses, trying to think of a comeback to that, but he gives up after a few minutes and just opens the door. "You suck." Is the best he can come up with. He leaves before Zayn can make fun of him even more.

* * *

He doesn't find Louis right away. He didn't really expect to, but it would have been nice to walk in and immediately spot the lad. Louis might not even work there that day, or maybe he doesn't come in until later. Basically, Harry came for no reason at all.

He might as well stay and look at the gallery, at least. Maybe prove to Zayn that he's capable of enjoying things even when attractive guys aren't included. Times were much better when him and Zayn were just roommates and Zayn wasn't the biggest twat in existence, but then they started talking and three years later, here they are. He has nicer friends than Zayn, maybe he should move in with one of them. Or maybe not, it'd probably create a void of nothingness in his heart or summat. That's what Zayn said. He's not entirely sure he can trust Zayn's word on that, though.

What he doesn't do, is search for Louis. No, of course not. He doesn't go up to the front desk and ask for a Louis...Tomlinson. Louis Tomlinson. That was his name, he remembers. He liked the way it rolled off the tongue, how sophisticated it sounded. Louis didn't seem like the sophisticated type, though. He seemed a bit more loose, to Harry. Someone that went against the rules and made their own. Someone like Zayn except not as annoying. He's really hoping he doesn't turn out to be someone like Liam.

"Hi," He greets the brunette girl at the front, smiling. She glances up from her desk, smiling kindly at Harry. "I'm looking for a Louis Tomlinson. Is he here today?"

Her smile immediately fades and she gives him a look of sorrow. "If he's offended or bothered you while you were attending the--"

"What, no," He says, furrowing his eyebrows. Louis's done the exact opposite of bothering him. He can't even _find_ him right now, which was a shame, really. "He was lovely, the other night," He praises. Louis hadn't really done much, honestly, but he looked pretty and talked nice so he was lovely in Harry's mind. He would like to think that he's good at reading people. Zayn and Liam say that he's too trusting, and sometimes that may be true, but for the most part he can read people pretty well and he likes the way this Louis bloke is looking in his mind.

"Was he?" She asks, her tone of voice shocked. He nods slowly. "Oh, well, he'll be here in about ten minutes, hopefully."

"Hopefully?"

"If he's not late again."

"You speak of me so negatively, Eleanor," A similar voice says. Harry turns as soon as he hears it, grinning when he sees Louis walking in, his hair in a fringe, but still styled to perfection. "I'm honored that you speak of me at all."

The girl, Eleanor, rolls her eyes. "You're early, for once."

"Niall's a dick that plays guitar while I'm trying to sleep," Louis complains, leaning on the counter. "Who're you, then?" He asks, glancing up at Harry. Alright, Harry's gonna pretend that he wasn't hurt that Louis didn't remember him. It's not like he didn't spend an entire week thinking about Louis or anything. That would be weird, right? Especially since Louis wasn't doing the same.

"Harry," The younger boy answers, grinning. Louis's face contorts into recognition, then he smiles and nods.

"I remember you. The one from the art show the other night. Harry Styles." So Louis did remember him. Or, okay, it was just his name, but it was better than nothing. Louis could've assumed it was any Harry, but he _specifically_ knew it was him. Maybe he's reading too much into this, but he's one hundred percent sure Louis's his soulmate so he's allowed to.

"The one and only," He replies cheekily, winking. He's doing his best to ignore the warm feeling at the bottom of his stomach. Cheeky and charming, he could win Louis over with that, probably. "Louis Tomlinson, yeah?"

"Yeah," Louis answers. "Have an interest in art?"

"Something like that," He shrugs. It wasn't a lie, really. He was just, you know, interested in the art of _Louis_. "My mate Zayn, the one that had the art show, he's an artist. First show he's done."

"Is he the pretty one?"

"Probably."

"He's got great cheekbones," Louis says. He looks back to Eleanor and grins. Sure, Zayn has great cheekbones, but his aren't the ones that Harry's been fawning over for a week. Or well, that first time they met he was, but the effect wears off after three years. "Alright then, clock me in. Haven't got all day, El."

Eleanor sighs, typing something into the computer and handing Louis his tag. "Best behaviour, Louis."

"Are you saying this isn't my best?" Louis asks, mock offended. "You've wounded me." He pouts, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at her. She doesn't spare him a second glance. "Whatever. Well then Harry Styles, was nice seeing you. New art exhibit every couple of weeks, maybe I'll see you around." He winks at Harry before waving bye, clipping on his name tag and walking to the employees room. No, Harry didn't watch his bum as he walked away. He simply glanced.

"He's a bit of an arse," Eleanor says when she's sure Louis's gone. "Nice guy, though. Funny, too. He also may be single and not so straight." She adds, giving Harry a look. Harry smiles, his eyes still glued to where Louis had walked off.

Louis was single. And gay. Which means, Harry has more of a chance now and all of this wasn't for nothing. All he had to do was find a way to impress Louis and hope that the lad didn't get a boyfriend or have a sexuality crisis anytime soon. He has good faith, though. If he tries hard enough, he should at least get one date with Louis. He has it all planned out.

"Good to know."

* * *

" _Now I'm speechless, over the edge and just breathless, I never thought that I'd catch this_ ," Harry sings, walking into the kitchen and putting his hands on Zayn's shoulders as the older boy cooked. " _Lovebug again_."

"Remind me to yell at Louis for making you like this," Zayn says, shaking his head. "God, the Jonas Brothers. You're twenty one years old."

"How _dare_ you, Zayn Malik!" Harry exclaims, stepping back. "Don't act like you weren't one of the many that would blast Burnin Up in their bedrooms as a teenage boy. Don't lie to me."

Zayn sighs. "Go away. Liam's gonna be here in a few."

"Is that why you're cooking that," Harry scrunches his nose in disgust. "Smells good, though." It looked absolutely terrible in the pan, but hey, the smell was nice so maybe the taste would be nice, too. You know, nose and mouth senses being connected or something like that. He didn't do that well in biology.

"You can't have any," Zayn says.

"Don't want it," Harry replies, opening the fridge and grabbing his water bottle. He could cook his own food just fine. He could order take out if he wanted, he didn't need Zayn and his stupid, healthy "Liam approved" food. "You know what I do want, though?"

"Harry, I swear--"

"Louis." It's been a couple of days since he's gone to the gallery. Since the second time he had gone and talked to Louis, he had been going every few days, hoping to bump into Louis and maybe get to know him more. But usually it was just Eleanor at the front desk and other workers there. He had seen Louis a few times, but the older boy was usually busy and didn't notice Harry was there, so he never bothered him. Maybe it was a good thing he never went to talk to Louis each time he went. He didn't want to seem to eager, or stalker-ish as Zayn unnecessarily pointed out. "I had a conversation with him when I went the second time."

Zayn rolls his eyes, turning of the stove and turning to face Harry. "'Bout what?" He might as well indulge him.

"You," Harry answers, taking a drink from his water. "Art. He likes your cheekbones."

"Great conversation starter, I see," Zayn says, shaking his head. "You're welcome."

"Are you making me thank you for your cheekbones? I mean, alright, they're pretty damn great and I'm very envious, but I wouldn't--"

"Not that you idiot," Zayn sighs. "The art show. Where you met Louis. You're welcome."

Right. It was Zayn's art show that had introduced him to Louis originally. So this was all Zayn's doing, technically. Meeting Louis, wanting to go back to the museum constantly just to see the older boy and maybe talk to him for a few minutes. He's gonna take this as payback for him introducing Zayn to Liam. At least Louis doesn't seem like the type to have stupid health kicks every two weeks and drag everyone down with him.

"Thank you _so_ much Zayn," Harry says in a mocking tone, wrapping Zayn in an over-enthusiastic hug. Zayn rolls his eyes, attempting to shove Harry away, but to no avail. Luckily, the front door to their flat is opened and Liam's walking into the kitchen, standing at the entry way and raising an eyebrow at the sight of Harry and Zayn. He's pretty certain that Liam should be used to this by now, considering this probably isn't the first time he's hugged Zayn in the kitchen. And it definitely isn't the first time Liam's walked in on it. It was a very interesting reaction they got the first time Liam walked in on them being overly affectionate with each other. Zayn wasn't used to it at first either, but Harry's an affectionate person and Zayn got used to it fast.

"Do you guys need privacy, or?" Liam asks, leaning against the archway and crossing his arms.

"Liam, help," Zayn mumbles. Liam raises an eyebrow.

Harry smirks, holding Zayn even tighter and shaking his head. "Come join us, Li," He says. "You know you wanna." Liam shakes his head and chuckles, turning around and leaving the kitchen in favour of the living room. Harry scoffs, letting go of Zayn and marching off after Liam. Zayn stands in the kitchen, blinking a few times before following both boys.

"Liam James Payne," Harry scolds as Liam sits down on the sofa. "I'm leaving, I can't take this hostility in my own home."

"Bye," Zayn says, sitting down next to Liam and molding himself into the younger boy's side. Harry frowns, sticking his tongue out at the both of them and going to grab his jacket from his room. He comes out seconds later, mock glaring at Zayn and Liam, who are too busy having a heated make out session to even notice it. He sighs, going to the door and putting on his shoes. He then turns to Zayn and Liam and crosses his arms.

"I'm leaving now," He says, opening the door slowly and grabbing his keys. "You know, I'm gonna get together with Louis at some point and it's gonna be us snogging on the sofa."

"Sod off," Zayn says, pulling away from Liam long enough to flip off Harry. The younger boy narrows his eyes as he leaves the flat and closes the door.

* * *

He somehow finds his way to the art gallery again. He didn't mean to, honestly, but it's almost seven at night and he's tired of being around Zayn and Liam while they're being all _couple-y_. So, he's at the gallery, pretending to look at the art work when he's trying to find Louis.

It's a new set of paintings, this time, so he doesn't have to look at the same ones he did last time he was there. He does recognize a few of them, but he's honestly not paying any attention to them so it doesn't really matter to him.

"Harry, right?" Someone says behind him. He turns around, smiling when he sees Louis standing there. "Glad to see you're back."

"Oh you know, interested in the arts and everything," Harry says, smiling. "I really like this one, actually." He points to the one behind him, pretending to look over it and seem into it. It was actually the first time he had actually seen it, but now that he was actually looking it it was a pretty good piece of art. He'd much rather be staring at Louis, though. Not that he didn't actually enjoy all of the artwork, because he did, he always had, but things are different now that he knows Louis and he's not too sure why it's like this at all. He feels like a teenage girl with a crush and it's kind of ridiculous considering he's twenty one years old.

Louis glances at it and shrugs. "It's nice, I suppose," He says, looking back up at Harry. "I don't really pay enough attention to the art here." He grins sheepishly. "I usually just read off the info cards next to them for like, tours and stuff. Don't do those often because of that." It's kind of endearing, the way Louis speaks about things. Even if he's supposed to be uninterested in what he's talking about, his tone is always so expressive and he always seems like he knows everything he's talking about. He probably has everyone fooled whenever he does the tours, too. Harry probably would be, but then again, he wouldn't really be paying attention to what Louis was actually saying.

"So I should definitely not ask for Louis Tomlinson for a tour?" He jokes and Louis laughs and bites his lip before he speaks again. Harry's not one hundred percent sure, but he thinks biting your lip while talking to someone is usually a sign of flirting. Or maybe he's just being hopeful because it's Louis. Either way, he looks really attractive when he does it.

"Not unless you want to pay extra for the same thing you can read yourself," Louis replies with a smirk. "I didn't tell you that, though."

"I'll remember that," Harry says. "Aren't you supposed to be working?" He reaches out and taps Louis's name tag. Louis glances down at his name tag and shakes his head. He quickly un-clips it, shoving it in his pocket.

"Nah, on break for another fifteen minutes."

"You stay here on your breaks?" Harry asks, shoving his hand in his pockets. He might have been trying to figure out Louis's schedule, but it was only so he wouldn't have to waste an hour or two walking around looking at art when it turns out that Louis wasn't actually there.

"Only when I'm working night shifts, which is usually on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays. I've got afternoon shifts on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I go out to lunch with my mate Niall. Then Fridays and Saturdays I'm off."

He mentally goes over Louis's schedule, trying to see how it matches up with his own work schedule. His shifts are usually in the morning, so he could easily go see Louis on his night  and afternoon shifts. But then again, would it be weird for him to do that? He's only talked to Louis three times and he's sure that doesn't mean that they're instantly friends or something. He doesn't even think he would go see Zayn on his breaks, but then again, he wasn't exactly infatuated with Zayn either.

"Sounds like you're quite busy, then," Harry says. Louis nods and grins.

"Yeah, gets pretty boring on my night breaks, though," He complains, crossing his arms. "You should keep me company."

Harry smiles. "Think I just might. Wouldn't want you to be bored." Was this flirting? He was pretty sure this was flirting.

"That's the spirit, Harold," Louis says. Harold.

"It's just Harry," Harry corrects, but he can't say he doesn't like the way _Harold_ sounds coming from Louis.

Louis raises an eyebrow and smirks. Harry forgets how to breathe. "Figured that, but I wanted to test it out first," He says, nudging Harry's arm. "I like your name, though. Harry Styles. Very charming." This is definitely flirting. Alright then, Harry can flirt, too.

Harry grins, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Charming, you say?" He asks, pursing his lips.

"Oh definitely," Louis nods. "You're on a whole new level of charmer."

"I'm flattered," He says, hoping that the blush threatening to appear stays away. His face doesn't feel any warmer, thankfully, so he's going to go ahead and assume that he's saved from any embarrassment. "So, what do you usually do here on your breaks?"

Louis shrugs, beginning to walk around the exhibit. Harry follows, not paying attention to the art in favour of Louis. "I usually harass Eleanor at the front. Sometimes I just chat on the phone with some mates, go out for a smoke or summat. I saw you before I went outside, though, so I decided to say hi."

"Well, I don't think you've actually said hi in this entire conversation," Harry says. Louis rolls his eyes, letting out a soft chuckle and stopping the both of them in the middle of the room. He holds out his hand and grins. Harry stares down at it before looking back up at Louis, grinning widely and grabbing the smaller boy's hand.

"Hi, I'm Louis," Louis says cheekily, shaking Harry's hand lightly. Harry laughs, pulling his hand away from Louis's.

"M'Harry," He tells him jokingly.

"There, a proper greeting, then," Louis claps a hand on Harry's shoulder and the two begin walking again. "You know, most people that come here often are usually over the age of thirty."

Harry scoffs. "I don't come here often," He defends, but Louis shakes his head and points an accusatory finger at him.

"You're here all the time!" He exclaims, a bit too loudly, because people around them turn and give the turn of them nasty glares. Louis waves them off, focusing back on Harry. "I see you almost every day I work, looking at all of the art and everything. Are you an art major?" An art major, right. Definitely. He's studying the art of Louis Tomlinson, and he's sure that he's passing the class easy.

"Erm no, I'm not actually," He answers sheepishly. "English major. I just, you know, like art and other nice looking things."

"Oh," Louis says, looking almost...disappointed? "I just thought--Never mind." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. If Harry didn't know any better, he would say that Louis was acting a bit nervous, but Louis didn't seem like the type to get easily nervous so he pushed that thought away.

He's about to ask him to continue, but his phone rings before he can. He lets out an aggravated sigh and slides his phone out of his pocket, giving Louis an apologetic smile and walking a short distance away from him as he answers the call. It's from Zayn, of course.

"What do you want," He answers in a not-so-pleasant tone.

"Don't be mean," Zayn says, his tone teasing. Harry's five seconds away from throwing his phone at the wall. "But anyways, are you coming home anytime soon?"

"Depends," Harry says. "Is Liam still there?"

"Nah, left a few minutes ago. Which is why I need you here to keep me company."

"No," He says simply, turning back to Louis and giving him a smile. Louis returns it, then goes back to look at one of the paintings in front of him, only he doesn't seem interested at all. Harry wants to get this call finished as soon as possible, just so he could go and join Louis again before his break was over. He thinks there's only five more minutes left of Louis's break and he didn't want to waste them on some stupid phone call with Zayn. "I'm busy."

Zayn lets out a laugh and Harry frowns at the phone. "I'm gonna hang up now," Harry starts, but Zayn quickly stops him.

"Can you be back soon, at least?" Zayn quickly asks.

"Yeah, whatever. Now I need to go," He says. "Goodbye, Zayn." He ends the call without waiting for a 'goodbye' from Zayn and shoves his phone in his pocket, turning around and walking back to Louis.

Louis smiles when he gets back, but it soon fades when he looks at the time on his phone. "Break's over," He says, putting his phone away and grabbing his name tag from his pocket. "Gotta get back to work." He looks at Harry sadly, pinning on his tag. Harry mentally reminds himself to murder Zayn when he got back to the flat.  Or maybe he'll just ban Liam from their flat all week, one of the two. The second might hurt Zayn more.

"Right, of course," Harry says, nodding. Louis shrugs, running a hand through his hair and smiling softly. "I'll come back soon, won't want you to be lonely." He grins, sending Louis a wink and a wave before shoving his hands in his pockets and leaving the gallery.

* * *

"Zayn Malik, you're a complete wanker," Harry insults loudly as soon as he walks into their flat, toeing off his shoes at the door and setting his keys down. Stupid fucking Zayn and his stupid fucking phone call. And then there's stupid fucking Liam leaving at a stupid fucking time. Where was the consideration on Liam and Zayn's part, this was completely unfair. He's going to do the same thing to Zayn when he's next out with Liam. Payback's a bitch.

"I was bored and alone," Zayn says. Harry sighs, entering the living room and sitting down on the opposite side of Zayn. The older boy placed his feet on top of Harry's lap, giving Harry a grin before looking back at the tv screen.

"That's what porn's for," Harry says, reaching over and swiping the remote from Zayn. Zayn ruined his night, so he'd ruin Zayn's.

Zayn glances at him in disbelief, shaking his head and lightly kicking his thigh. "Don't make me watch one of those stupid documentaries," He complains, attempting to reach for the remote, but giving up when Harry leans out of his reach.

"Those are great documentaries," Harry defends, flicking through the channels before settling on a cheesy romance movie. Zayn stares at the screen for a minute or so before nodding in approval. Cheesy romance movies were kind of just their thing.

"How did things go with art museum boy?" Zayn asks after a few silent minutes of watching the movie. Harry looks over at him and purses his lips.

"His name is Louis," He says. "Louis Tomlinson."

Zayn rolls his eyes. "Do you have his address, too?" He teases. Harry shakes his head, shoving Zayn's shoulder. Zayn laughs, his eyes flickering between Harry and the tv before falling back on Harry. "But honest, how did it go? Ask him on a date yet?"

"What, no," Harry says, staring at Zayn in disbelief. "I can't just ask him out on a date."

"Yes you can, you've done it before," Zayn says. Harry sighs and covers his face with his hands. Zayn was so _clueless_ sometimes, Harry didn't know how he's dealt with him for so long.

"Yeah, but none of them were _Louis_ ," He says. Zayn rolls his eyes and sits up straight before standing. "Where are you going?"

"Bed. You're being ridiculously in love and it's kind of disgusting," He teases and Harry scoffs, crossing his arms and stretching his body out on the sofa. Fine then, if Zayn was going to just leave him, then he'd take advantage of it.

Zayn retreats to his bedroom, leaving Harry alone in the living room watching some stupid movie. It was so rude, Zayn had even _asked_ him to go home and this is how he treated him when he did. Next time Zayn wants him home, he'll just tell him to fuck off instead.

* * *

Harry ignores Zayn and Liam's calls the next day after work, rushing off to the gallery and searching for Louis. He doesn't exactly know when the older's boy's lunch break was, but he's hoping he wasn't too late. He'd much rather not have to walk around and look at the same exact artwork he had seen the night before (which honestly, he didn't even look at it).

"Harold," Harry hears as soon as he walks in. He looks up, seeing Louis walking towards him, wearing normal clothes instead of his uniform. A t-shirt, too, and _shit_ , Louis has tattoos. Harry didn't think it was possible for the bloke to get any more attractive, but here he was.

So good, he had been right on time today. He checks his watch quickly, making a mental note of the time for next time. Three o'clock is Louis's break, good to know. "Stalking me?" Louis asks jokingly as he pulls on his hoodie and adjusts his beanie.

"Maybe," Harry replies, smiling. Louis chuckles, grabbing Harry's arm and leading him outside. "Are _you_ kidnapping me?" He asks and Louis laughs, stopping them in front of the building and letting go of Harry. He shoves his hands in his pockets and looks up at Harry, shaking his head.

"Off to lunch, remember?" Louis reminds. "Niall should be here in a few minutes, hopefully. Want to come with?" Harry's just been _invited_ to lunch with Louis. When did he turn into such a teenage girl with a crush?

He nods, trying his hardest not to seem eager. "Yeah, sure, sounds great." Nailed it.

Louis just smiles at him, looking straight ahead again and biting his lip. That's become Harry's weakness. Maybe Zayn was right, maybe he should just ask Louis out on a date. Louis seemed interested, right? He invited Harry to see him on his breaks and he's invited him to join him and his mate for lunch, so it wasn't like he was one hundred percent uninterested in Harry. He should ask him out, definitely. He'd do it now, while they were waiting, just to get it over with.

"Hey, Louis--" He starts, but is cut off when Louis grabs his arm again and starts walking off down the street. He furrows his eyebrows, looking in the direction Louis was leading them and seeing a blonde boy walking up to them.

"Niall!" Louis yells and _oh_. That was Niall, Louis's friend. Maybe this was a sign that Harry shouldn't ask Louis out yet. Yeah, that makes sense. The universe was just telling him that this wasn't the right time.

"Tommo," Niall greets when they reach each other. Louis lets go of Harry's arm and pulls Niall into a quick hug. "Who's this?" He asks, nodding his head towards Harry.

Louis glances at Harry then back to Niall. "This is Harry," He says. Niall's eyes widen, then he breaks out into a grin and looks back at Louis.

"D'you mean the fit--"

"Stop talking, Niall," Louis says, covering Niall's mouth and looking to Harry. "He says stupid things, sometimes."

Harry chuckles. "I've got one of those, too," He says. Louis smiles softly, then quickly pulls his hand away from Niall's mouth and glares at the younger boy.

"Niall, what the fuck?" He exclaims, wiping his hand on his jeans and shaking his head. Niall just shrugs, draping an arm over Louis's shoulder and beginning to walk in the same direction Harry and Louis had just came from. Harry follows right beside them. "Asshole."

"You love me," Niall says. He turns to Harry and ignores Louis's protests. "So Harry, tell me about yourself. Need to know if you're good enough for Lou, here."

Harry raises an eyebrow, smiling in amusement as Louis lets out a string of profanities. "For fuck's sake, Niall," He starts, but Niall says "shh" and he stops talking, seeming more offended at this point. He crosses his arms and sighs. Louis's pout is probably the cutest thing Harry has ever seen.

"Well, m'twenty one, I'm an English Major, and I really like art," Harry answers. Niall purses his lips before nodding and gesturing to go on. "I work at a bakery and--"

"I approve," Niall says suddenly. "Just as long as you can bring me cupcakes."

"I think I can manage that," Harry says, grinning. Louis looks between the both of them and shakes his head. He pulls Niall closer to him, whispering something to him that Harry can't make out. He pushes Niall away after that, pulling his phone out of his pocket and messing around with it. Harry decides not to question what it was Louis told Niall.

Niall stares at him, blinking a couple of times before looking back at Harry. "Ignore him," He says. "Anyways, have you got a special someone, then? Girlfriend, boyfriend, you know," He goes on.

Harry shakes his head quickly. "No. No boyfriend," He states, hoping that maybe would catch the hint. Louis doesn't do anything when he says it, though. Harry frowns for a minute, then smiles softly at Niall.

"You? Really? No fucking way, you have to have someone," Niall asks, and Louis smacks his arm.

"Filter, Niall," Louis scolds, giving Harry an apologetic look then returning to his phone. "Sorry about, him." Harry shrugs. He liked Niall.

"S'alright. Zayn's worse. And Liam."

"Who's Liam?" Louis asks as they stop in front of a pizza place, opening the door.

"Zayn's boyfriend and one of my mates," Harry says, entering the restaurant. Niall and Louis follow right behind him. "He was at the art show. Besides Zayn the entire night."

"Ah, I know who you're talking about," Louis says, sitting at a table. Niall sits beside him while Harry sits in front of him. "Niall, go order the pizza," He orders. Niall scoffs, staying seated. Louis pulls him in again and whispers something else, causing Niall to stand quickly.

"Gotta go to the bathroom anyways," Niall says, turning around and walking to the counter to order.

Harry grins. "What'd you tell him?"

"I'd wake him up every morning with the most obnoxious song I could think of."

"I should try that on Zayn," Harry says. "Use the Jonas Brothers. Always annoys Z."

"Thanks mate." Louis smiles, crossing his arms on the table and staring at Harry. "Alright then, tell me the truth. How come you're always at the gallery?"

Harry lets out a breath, leaning back in his chair. Apparently the universe was telling him that now was the time for him to ask Louis out. "Honest?"

"Honest." Louis repeats. Well then, it was now or never.

"Right, basically, um--"

"You talk very slowly," Louis comments, smiling. "But anyways, continue."

"I like art, I always have. But when I went to Zayn's show, I saw a guy there--Gorgeous, really--so uh, I started going more so I could see him."

Louis blinks a couple of times, staying silent for a minute. Harry starts to think that he's done something wrong. Maybe Louis figured out that it was him that he was talking about and was trying to figure out how to turn him down. The universe was really just trying to screw him over. "Does he work there?" Louis asks. His voice sounds a little higher than usual and a bit less confident, but Harry ignores that.

"He does, actually," He answers. This was it. Louis would ask the next question and he'd be forced to tell him. The universe is a bitch.

"Who is it?"

Harry sits up straight and leans forward. "It's--"

"Lads!" He's interrupted by Niall, who sets the pizza down in the table and takes his seat next to Louis. "I got cheese, s'that fine?"

Louis nods, giving Harry look that Harry thinks means something along the lines of "later". He can do later, that's fine. He has to remember to thank Niall and his bad (or was it good?) timing.

* * *

Harry's not sure how long his transformation into a stereotypical teenage girl is going to take, but he's currently at the stage of locking himself in his room and giggling at his phone. Louis's the funniest person he's ever met. The most attractive, too. Louis's literally the best person Harry has ever interacted with.

Louis had given Harry his number after lunch. He thinks it has something to do with the fact that he never told Louis who it was that he was, well, for a lack of a better term, stalking. Except, Louis hasn't even brought it up yet and they've been texting since Louis got off. That was at seven. It's almost midnight.

Zayn had knocked on his door numerous times, telling him that he could feel Harry's desperation all the way out in the living room. Normally Harry would just yell at him to fuck off, but he was too distracted by his phone, so he turned up his music and just ignored his best mate. Zayn stopped bothering him after that.

_'You never told me who it is you're always looking for' -Louis_

Harry groans and hides his face in his pillow. He thought he had steered clear of that, but well, Louis doesn't forget, apparently.

He sits up straight staring at his phone and biting his lip. He could easily just type "you" and it would all be out there. Louis would know it was him and could either reject him or somehow reciprocate the feelings. He was really hoping it would be the latter.

It takes takes him ten minutes, but he finally gets the courage to text back. This would either bite him in the ass or he'd find himself with a date. Either way, he wouldn't find out until he sent the message.

_'You' -Harry_

He sets his phone face down on his nightstand, wanting to wait until it went off to check it. Staring at the screen and waiting for Louis to answer would probably kill him, so he'd rather not. It'd be best for him to just wait until the tone went off and see it then. The anticipation was still killing him, but maybe it'd be more bearable this way. Or maybe not.

He grabs it twenty minutes later, still not seeing a response from Louis. Absolutely nothing. This had to be a silent rejection, right? Louis probably just didn't want to text him back an actual rejection or something. Right, okay, that makes sense, then. The universe has completely fucked him over this time.

* * *

One week is spent avoiding Louis and the gallery. It's not that he's pissed at Louis or anything, no never. It's just that, you know, humiliation and all that. He'd rather not face Louis in public after kind of being rejected by him.

And it's not like he's ignoring Louis's messages or anything, because Louis hasn't texted him at all and he's starting to think that maybe Louis just hates him now. It's been an entire week with no form of contact from Louis, so he might as well just give up. He could live on his own for the rest of his life or something. Maybe Zayn would stay with him and Liam would just live with the two of them. He'd be a permanent third wheel, but it's better than being alone.

"Something's wrong with you," Zayn says, walking into Harry room and leaning against the door frame. Harry's sat at his desk, his laptop open in front of him for this essay that he has do in a couple of weeks, but the document is completely empty. He doesn't even remember the assignment, to be completely honest.

"Nothing's wrong, Zayn," He mutters, leaning back in his chair and staring at his computer screen. He had put his phone on the charger across the room, trying to keep himself from checking the screen every few minutes in hopes that Louis would text him back or something. Nothing.

"Yes there is, you've been coming home after work every single day."

"I have to turn in my final essay--"

"Yeah, sure," Zayn walks further into the room, spinning Harry's chair so that he was facing him. "What happened with Louis. Does he have a boyfriend or summat?"

Harry groans in response. "No, he just has a Niall." Zayn raises an eyebrow, but decides not to question that until later. "I told him the reason I'm going there all the time was because of him and he won't respond."

"Oh," Zayn says. "Where's your phone?" He asks and Harry points to the corner where he has it charging. The older boy lets go of Harry's chair and crosses the room to grab Harry's phone. He unlocks it quickly, going through the messages with Louis before facing Harry and holding the phone up. "You do realize that you're phone is on airplane mode, right?"

"What?" Harry asks, his eyebrows furrowed. "No, because if my phone was on airplane mode then-- Shit." His eyes widen in realization and he stands, shutting his laptop and grabbing his phone from Zayn. "That's why I didn't get a response! And why my internet wouldn't work." He adds. Zayn rolls his eyes and shakes his head, patting Harry on the back and walking towards the room door.

"Go read the response then, idiot," He says before he leaves the room. Harry stares down at his phone, taking it off of airplane mode and grinning as a message ( a few, actually) notification pops up. _This_ was it, then. Louis's actual response to everything. Well then, here went nothing.

_'Me??? Wait, so you mean...you serious??' -Louis_

__

_'Harryyyyyyy, respond to me' -Louis_

__

_'You alright mate?' -Louis_

__

_'HARRY.' -Louis_

__

_'Are you just going to ignore me now?' -Louis_

__

_'Okay......' -Louis_

Shit. Shitshitshit. Louis thinks that he's ignoring him. A week, he's gone a week without even showing up at the gallery and that was pretty off for him. He should go. Apologize to Louis and explain everything.

He rushes out of his room, straight past Zayn, who's sat on the sofa with his laptop. "Going somewhere?" Zayn asks him. Harry glances quickly at Zayn and smiles half-heartedly.

"Louis," He answers, pulling on his boots and grabbing his keys. "I'll be back later." He leaves before Zayn can respond, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Harry tries not to dwell on how nervous he is as he's walking from the tube station to the museum. And well, if he had to take a guess on how nervous he actually was, he was _extremely_ nervous. The kind of nervous with butterflies in your stomach and you get kind of dizzy thinking about. He confirms that he's officially the stereotypical teenage girl and he's going to embrace that.

He's not sure when this thing with Louis turned from lust to well, he won't use that other word yet. Louis was pretty. No, okay, scratch that. Louis was so absolutely stunning and beautiful and just _flawless_ , that yeah, Harry was attracted to him when he first saw him. But then, he actually had a conversation with Louis and caught a glimpse of his personality and well, it was all downhill from there. Louis was just everything. He was attractive, funny, kind, sarcastic, he was literally perfect and Harry's really confused on how someone like him even exists.

He stops his thinking when he's stood in front of the gallery, letting out a deep breath and entering. This was the time of Louis's night shift, he's sure. This was the time he had come before, so Louis should be somewhere around here.

Harry glances around, spotting Louis speaking to one of the guests. Louis quickly catches Harry eye, raising an eyebrow before returning to the conversation. He quickly smiles at them and points them in a certain direction, then looks back at Harry and turns the other direction. Harry sighs, walking in Louis's direction and grabbing the older boy's arm when he's close enough.

"Louis," He says. Louis turns around, giving Harry an exasperated expression and pulling his arm away. "I didn't mean to ignore your messages."

"How do you accidentally ignore someone's messages for a _week_?"  Louis asks. "You didn't show up here either and you're here almost every day, so I obviously pissed you off somehow."

Harry shakes his head. "No, you didn't. I accidentally put my phone on airplane mode when I sent that last message. I meant to put it on sleep or whatever, but I pressed the wrong option," He explains, running a hand through his hair.  Louis blinks a couple of times. "I would've responded, honest, but I thought you were ignoring me."

Louis stays quiet for a few seconds before closing his eyes and sighing. "A proper idiot, you are," He says. "I've got a thing for a proper idiot." Harry smiles.

"A thing?" He asks, his tone hopeful. Louis rolls his eyes, grabbing the front of Harry's t-shirt and pulling his lips down onto his own. Harry's taken aback, but gets used to it after a couple of seconds, placing his hands on Louis's hips, closing his eyes and leaning into the kiss. His lips move in sync with Louis's soft ones, Louis humming against his mouth before quickly pulling away and grinning. Harry rests his forehead on Louis's, meeting his eyes with a smile.

"Definitely a thing," Louis says softly.

"Go on a date with me," He whispers and Louis nods, standing on his toes and pressing his lips against Harry's again. Harry silently thanks the universe.

****  
  
  
  
  



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